Monday, November 21, 2016

Booker T. & The Tiny Furry Dictator

Boo, in all his glory
You guys remember Booker T. Jet Black Alley Cat, right?  Well, Boo (his affectionate nickname) has become a wonderful member of our family.  He's fat and happy and such a love bug!

Still not going into details about all the "Everything" that's been going on lately (not there yet, emotionally) you already know we've got Gammy's cat, Wendy, and are trying diligently to integrate her into our household.

First nose-to-nose
There have been some mild bouts of Kitty Fisticuffs between the two, but there really haven't been any major issues.  Like I said before, Booker seems pretty chill about having Wendy around.  He's interested.  He likes to know where she is and sometimes wanders the hallway crying until she comes to investigate why he's being vocally obnoxious.  Fisticuffs ensue.  Wendy, on the other hand, has now been dubbed The Tiny Furry Dictator.  Boy Child calls her "The Instigator" - which is also correct.  She starts "it" every time.  Boo isn't sure whether he's coming or going, but when she's hiding, he looks for her.

Last night at 10:30 the two of them spent quite a while chasing each other up and down our back hallway.  Thumpa-thumpa-thumpa!  She's 8 lbs.  He's 20 lbs.  They're like a herd of elephants!  Any parent of multiple cats (#joysofcatparenthood) understands what this sounds like.  And most of the time, any parent of multiple cats can tune out the running back and forth and general sounds of play.  Even mild Kitty Fisticuffs.  But when the fisticuffs become a full on screamer of a fight, it wakes everyone up in a hurry!  Yeah - that happened.  Poor Boy Child got genuinely freaked out, never having heard a legitimate scream from a cat before.  It is, admittedly, a bit terrifying, even if you know what it is!  Girl Child slept through it.  (And before you ask, yes, I checked them over.  No one got hurt.)

The Tiny Furry Dictator with her favorite minion, Girl Child
So, while I'm absolutely thrilled to be a multiple cat household (I've dreamt of this day for a long time!) I'm not enjoying being a referee to two furry toddlers who cannot share a toy.

He eats her food. She smacks him and sends him running down the hall.  He hides.  She finds him.  He chases her back down the hall the other way.  She runs and hides under my bed, where he can't reach her because he's really too big.  He sits in the hallway and cries and makes concerned sounds until she comes out from under the bed.  Then they both sit and stare at each other for a while until one of them decides they just have to move.  Then the chasing starts again.

She uses his litterbox and I am sure she does it because she knows he's too big to fit into hers.  It's a small win for female kitty kind everywhere, right?

Spoiled Fur Child
She has a pink pillow on Girl Child's bed that we call the Royal Throne because it is from this vantage point which she watches the goings on.  Near litterbox and food.  Defending her territory.

Boo is spoiled so I think he's probably feels like we've added an interloper into his domain (which we have) and probably feels mildly threatened.  Except, being of such a non-violent nature, he's not sure what to do when The Tiny Furry Dictator lays down the law.  Usually he can't figure out what he's done and comes to me to cry and snuggle.  Goober.

Anyway, it's been (and will continue to be) an adventure.  I know that it can take a LONG time for cats to truly accept each other, but I'd forgotten about the struggles in the meantime.  I have no doubt they'll get there, but for now, please wish me (and my family) hours of uninterrupted sleep.

TTFN
JMS

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